ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information about a revised equation developed by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for assessing the physical demands of certain two-handed
manual lifting tasks, which was described by Waters et al. (1993). The chapter contains sections describ-
ing what factors need to be measured, how they should be measured, what procedures should be used,
and how the results can be used to ergonomically design new jobs or make decisions about redesigning
existing jobs that may be hazardous. The chapter defines all pertinent terms and presents the mathematical
formulae and procedures needed to properly apply the NIOSH lifting equation. Several example problems
are also provided to demonstrate how the equations should be used. An expanded, more detailed
version of this chapter is contained in a NIOSH report entitled Applications Manual for the Revised
NIOSH Lifting Equation (Waters et al., 1994).
